Her First Mistake by Carey Baldwin (books for 10th graders txt) 📕

“Of course, my condolences.” Baxter’s sympathetic look appeared genuine.

“You must miss her terribly,” Alma said.

“I guess I mostly try to put it out of my mind. But her bracelet is a nice memory. Thank you for bringing it back to me.”

Alma patted Mia’s shoulder, then dropped her arm from around her. “Thank you for the gorgeous bouquet.”

Baxter cleared his throat. “We don’t want to keep you from your aunt. Misty, isn’t it?”

“I should get home. She gets worried if I don’t check in. A bit of a helicopter auntie.”

“I don’t blame her,” Alma said, as she and Baxter escorted Mia to the door.

After a quick round of “see you soons” and more hugs from Alma, Mia exited the Coopers’ home. She worried she might’ve lingered too long over the goodbyes, but at least she felt less shaky. For a moment, she’d been quite disoriented.

A flash of wind whipped her hair in her face, and now, fully aware of her surroundings, she descended the porch steps.

And gasped.

It was Paul Hudson.

There, in the circular driveway—lounging against the hood of a black Lexus.

Twenty-One

The setting sun bounced off the black sedan. Was it really him? Shielding her eyes from the glare, Mia verified the truth—it was indeed Paul Hudson. Should she rush to her car and speed away, like Aunt Misty would counsel, or stand her ground?

Her heartbeats counted down the seconds until she realized that, by remaining motionless, she’d defaulted into a decision. She pulled up her chin, rolled her shoulders back, stretched her spine to reach her full height and marched straight for him.

“Hello, Mia.”

Look him in the eye.

“Stop following me,” she said.

An unlit cigarette dangled from his lips. That didn’t fit the image he liked to portray. She wondered if Ruth knew he smoked. She wondered if Ruth knew a lot of things about her husband.

“I’m not following you,” he said.

“And let’s add stop lying to the list.”

Still lounging against the hood of his car, he pulled the cigarette from his mouth and bounced it between two fingers. “Trying to quit. I haven’t smoked in years but these past few months have been a lot. And now I’ve got you to deal with. I always thought you were a nice kid, Mia. But at the moment, I’m not so sure.”

“I’m not a kid, and I’ve no reason to be nice to you. I’ve seen this car multiple times. You’ve been following me for days.”

“You sound paranoid. I’m not the only person in San Diego who drives a black Lexus.”

“But you are the only one who tailed me here.”

He flicked the cigarette away and turned his palms up. “Talk like that is exactly the kind of thing that makes me doubt your mental stability. I came to give the Coopers my sympathies. Celeste was a lovely young woman, and this is a terrible tragedy.”

“Celeste is a lovely young woman. You’re talking like you know she’s dead.”

“Naturally, I’m hoping for the best. But I’d be lying if I said I haven’t considered the possibility that this may not end well. At some point, we’re all going to have to start facing facts.”

She was glad, now, not to have to see him at school anymore when he picked up his son. Whether he’d followed her here or not, the guy was toxic. “You’re not here to offer condolences. Let’s cut through the BS. I assume Ruth told you that I know you’ve been stalking Celeste.”

“She did, and I’d appreciate it if you’d stop spreading gossip.” He sighed. “I’m a married man. I’ve got a reputation to protect, and what would you know about Celeste’s private life unless you’re the stalker? You weren’t friends. I don’t believe for a minute she’d confide her private affairs to you. You think my showing up here is strange; well, I can say the same thing about you. Maybe you followed me.”

“Alma asked me over.”

“Why would she do that? And what’s this about you being the family spokesperson? None of it makes sense unless you’ve grossly misrepresented yourself to the family. Now you’re lying about me to my wife. What’s your game?”

She jabbed her index finger at him, all but touching his chest. “I don’t have to explain myself to you, and I’m not afraid of you. I’ve already told the police everything. Detective Samuels knows you were hounding Celeste. Turning up places you shouldn’t have.”

“Like I’m doing now, with you? Try spewing that nonsense to him—that I’m following you around town. He’ll see right through that.” Paul stepped closer.

She wanted to run, put as much distance between them as possible. Holding his gaze, she leaned in. His breath reeked of stale nicotine. “He’s a good detective. Sooner or later he’ll figure it out.”

“Time will tell whether or not Samuels is worth his salt. But you’ve done damage, repeating terrible things to my wife and the police—things that could ruin my marriage and cost me my job. And as I said before, I know you didn’t hear any of it from Celeste. So where, exactly, did this despicable rumor come from?”

“You just admitted that there is a rumor, that I’m not making it up.”

He fell back, smiling, as if they were having a friendly chat, and her chest loosened. “Maybe someone got the wrong impression from something Celeste said. Who was it, Mia? Who’s been talking about me?”

“If it’s not true, what are you worried about? All you have to do is tell the truth.”

“Unlike you, that’s what I’m doing. But how am I supposed to handle a situation like this one? What am I supposed to do about you, Mia? I guess I’ll have to figure that out on my own. Meanwhile, I’m warning you.” He slowly raised a closed fist, then opened it and pushed his hand through his hair. “Stay away from my family.”

Still reeling from her encounter with Paul Hudson, Mia pulled into the nearest gas station and killed the engine. Her tank was nearly full but she was shaking